Many types of electrochemical cells utilize a liquid electrolyte to support electrochemical reactions within the cell. For example, a metal-air electrochemical cell system may comprise a plurality of cells, each having a fuel electrode serving as an anode at which metal fuel is oxidized, and an air breathing cathode at which oxygen from ambient air is reduced. Such a cell may also comprise an electrolyte to communicate the oxidized/reduced ions between the electrodes. For example, see U.S. Patent Publication No. 2009/0284229, incorporated in its entirety herein by reference. In some electrochemical cell systems comprising a plurality of electrochemical cells, the electrolyte may be shared by multiple cells. For example, the electrolyte may flow in series from one cell to another, such as is described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/631,484, incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. In other electrochemical cell systems, the electrolyte may be shared by multiple cells, but may flow partially in parallel.
In some electrochemical cell systems sharing the electrolyte between multiple electrochemical cells, shunt current, a parasitic or counter-productive current that flows through the ionically conductive medium between electrodes of different cells, may arise. In some cases, shunt current may be most pronounced between the first cell and the last cell in a plurality of electrochemical cells connected in series, because they have the greatest potential difference. In cells affected by shunt current, it may be useful to interrupt the flow of the electrolyte so that the shunt current cannot travel through the electrolyte. Some shunt current interrupters that interrupt current flow are known. For example, see U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,811,945, 4,371,433, and 4,894,294.
Among other improvements, the present application also endeavors to provide an effective and improved way of preventing shunt current by interrupting current flow.